Darkness
by Linzerj
Summary: Rated T for future violence. BBRae slight RobStar. Full Summary inside. Beast Boy is acting strange, and the Titans believe the Beast is back. Raven makes a silent promise to help Beast Boy through the darkness. But old enemies are re-arising... On hiatus, being rewritten.
1. Prologue

I know what you're all thinking - why is she starting another story when she has ten left to finish? Blame the Plot Bunnies, OK? The idea wouldn't leave me alone!

This will mostly be told in third person omniscent or third person limited point of view, but the prologue below is told in the POV's of Robin, Raven, and Beast Boy.

The story will get better, I promise (and I hope!)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans

Summary: Beast Boy is acting strange, and the Titans are worried the Beast from before is resurfacing. With violent mood swings, longings for meat, and disappearances, Beast Boy himself is worried for what is to come. He doesn't want to face the darkness in him, but then he realizes he must if he wants to overcome it. And all the while a violet-blue raven will be there to help him along his way. But will it be enough...?

* * *

_**Darkness**_

_Prologue_

**Robin**

It's been a few weeks since my team and I returned from Tokyo. I'm going out with the love of my life – Starfire, the Tamaranean princess. Raven hasn't been meditating as much, and I've noticed she's been feeling a little without her emotions making anything explode – probably because she's free from her father's control. Cyborg and Bumblebee are having lots of phone chats, and sometimes they meet each other when crime is low. There isn't much crime at all, actually – a few bank robberies here and there, and the occasional Dr. Light and alien attacks, but most of the villains we used to fight on a daily basis are frozen with the Brotherhood of Evil in their lair in Paris. Only Slade is still unaccounted for – Beast Boy said he saw Slade and fought him before we headed out to Tokyo, but we haven't seen him since.

Beast Boy's been acting strangely lately. At first I thought it was because he saw Terra's statue was gone, and then actually saw a girl who looked and sounded just like Terra. Perhaps it was Terra, but she just forgot everything after being freed from her stone prison. We don't really know what happened to her, and I know Beast Boy would like to know the truth. But we can't change anything…

Anyway, apparently Terra isn't his issue. He's been a little moody lately, and he's been really intense in battle training without even turning into anything. He's also been disappearing a lot – at least once a week, usually on Saturday. The rest of the team is concerned, too, but none of us are just going to come out and tell him our concerns.

Until Cyborg dared me to ask him what was going on. And he didn't just dare me – he triple dog dared me, and called me Boy Blunder.

Since I wasn't going to put up with not accepting his dare, I (nervously) asked Beast Boy what was going on one morning at breakfast.

"Nothing's going on," he had replied.

"Then why are you disappearing from the Tower at times and acting so weird?" I had asked. I instantly regretted it, but I couldn't take it back.

"It's none of your business!" Beast Boy had exclaimed. He had gotten up, leaving his tofu untouched, and stormed out of the common room.

"I'm just concerned for you, Beast Boy!" I had yelled after him. He stopped at the doors and turned around to look at me. I could see the mixed feelings in his eyes as he responded.

"Don't be," he had muttered. Then, he said something really quietly as he left. I could just make it out:  
"You'll just get hurt."

"What did he mean by that?" I asked Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven.

They didn't have the answer, and I sure didn't know what he was talking about, so I went back to my room to ponder it. I stayed in there all day and all night, coming out the next morning.

When I finished thinking, I had only two logical explanations. The first was that Beast Boy was hitting maturity and his powers were changing with him. But that still seemed unlikely. My other explanation scared me.

After helping Aqualad with Brother Blood's underwater sonic resonator a year or two back, my team got into a fight with a villain named Adonis, who is thankfully frozen with the Brotherhood of Evil now. But during the fight, he and Beast Boy had been drenched in experimental chemicals. The day after that Beast Boy had started behaving weirdly. He went into the gym to work out, he was moody, and he even ate meat, something he swore to never do. Then, after an argument with Raven, he went into his room and… we're still uncertain about the details, but we're pretty sure the chemicals took full effect on him. Then he changed into this beast. The same thing happened to Adonis, apparently, though Beast Boy himself couldn't remember. Raven was attacked, and after waking up, she said that Adonis had broken into the tower to attack Beast Boy. She had gone to check out the howl we all had heard, and Adonis captured her. Beast Boy saved her, but he attacked me, Cyborg, and Starfire. It wasn't very pretty, that's for sure.

Cyborg gave them both an antidote, and it worked on both of them, but my second theory is that the antidote either wasn't strong enough for Beast Boy or that the Beast is part of him now, and that it's trying to take over Beast Boy again.

When the Titans heard this theory, they were just shocked – except Starfire. She had something interesting to share with us about this assumption.

She said that when we were fighting Slade and some fire demons on the night Raven was supposed to become the portal so her father could rule, she saw Beast Boy change into the Beast during the fight. After getting knocked out, however, he changed back and didn't use it again.

And suddenly we had our answer.

The Beast was back, and was trying to take over Beast Boy.

**Raven**

When Robin finally had his theory about Beast Boy, we were all moderately shocked. I, of course, didn't show it as much, but the surprise from the explanation was still there.

I remembered that Beast clearly, even if I hadn't been awake for most of the fighting. It was big, bigger than Cyborg. It was various shades of green in Beast Boy's case, and had long, sharp claws and fangs. It looked like some type of mutated primate, in my opinion.

"_Having that thing inside doesn't make you an animal. Knowing when to let it out is what makes you a man."_

That's what I told him after Cyborg gave him the antidote, after Beast Boy said that he could still feel it inside him, and I meant every word of it.

But apparently, even though he let it out at a great time, once he did that, he couldn't control it as well.

I understood what he was going through. I had always had to control my emotions because of my demonic heritage, but that was all my life. For Beast Boy, it wasn't quite the same, but the answer was there. He just needed to learn how to control it.

When I came to this conclusion, I realized that I was going to be the one to get him through this – no matter what.

**Beast Boy**

I kept telling myself I could handle it. I kept reminding myself of Raven's words.

But it wouldn't give up. The Beast wouldn't give up.

It was giving me nightmares. It was trying to influence what I did and what I felt. It was trying to take over me. I couldn't allow it.

On Saturdays I would sometimes go out to a nature park that was seldom visited. I changed into every predator I could think of – tiger, lion, leopard, cheetah, wolf, bear, and others – and hunted the deer and stuff in the park to try and make it happy, but it wouldn't let me go.

I hate it.

I hate what could happen if it did get lose.

I hate myself for being it.

The Beast hadn't bothered me for a while, until right after Slade first came after Raven. After that, whenever we went into battle with Slade, it tried to get out, but I was stronger then, and wouldn't let it. When those fire demon thingies attacked, it tried to get out again, and that time… I let it. But once the whole thing was over, it started to try to get out again. And since the Terra and Tokyo thing… it's gotten stronger.

I don't know how much more I can take. I'm afraid I'm going to snap soon.

No, I'm not just afraid it might happen – I know it will.

I just hope that when it does, Raven is safe.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans

WARNING: There is mild violence, and I do have some blood in here, and, though I don't go into detail, the killing of a deer. If you don't wish to read any of these things, feel free to turn back now. If these things don't bother you, then read on.

* * *

_**Darkness**_

_Chapter 1_

Red and green were across from each other on the color wheel for a reason. They were completely opposite. So why was a green shape in the middle of red?

The green shape was a familiar shapeshifter. And the red...was blood.

The green changeling looked in dismay at the blood on the ground, the blood on his tattered uniform, the blood on his bare hands. Hands...with claws. Hideous claws, hiding just below the fingernails that made him seem a little more human.

But he was not. He was a montser.

In a corner, an unconcious girl lay. There was no blood on her dark cloak. None at all. It was as though she had been spared...

The green shapeshifter looked at the girl, a mix of emotions swirling across his face...love, hatred, sadness, pride...

_She is yours now,_ the voice that haunted his mind said. _She is _ours_ now, and there is no one left to hurt her._

"They were my friends..." he murmured regretfully. The voice laughed.

_They weren't friends. They attacked you. They attacked her. She is yours and only yours! Now you can keep her safe...we can keep her safe..._I _can keep her safe._

_"_Get out of my head!" the changeling growled, clutching his head and falling to his knees. The voice chuckled again.

_Silly boy. I am part of you. We are one. Embrace me! Live up to your name - **Beast** Boy!_

"NO!" Beast Boy gasped, sitting up in his bed as lightning struck. He looked around the dark space, his breath heavy. He was in his room. Nothing had happened...yet.

Outside his room, four groggy teenagers stood, still sleepy-eyed. "Who wants to check on him?" the black-haired boy with the mask, Robin, asked.

The purple haired girl in a cloak, Raven, shook her head as Cyborg backed up. The Tameranean princess Starfire began to shake her head no, but she saw the horrified look on her boyfriend's face and sighed.

"I shall check on him," Starfire announced, approaching the door that said BEAST BOY. She approached the door, took a deep breath, and knocked. "Beast Boy?" she asked quietly. "Are you having the nightmares? You are alright, yes?"

The door slid open, revealing a messy Beast Boy. "It's alright, Star," he told her. He hesitated, then added, "Yeah, I was having nightmares."

"Beast Boy, are you sure you're alright?" Robin asked, stepping to stand next to Starfire as thunder rolled in the distance. "If anything's wrong, you can tell us. We're only concerned."

"Yeah, you haven't been yourself lately," Cyborg noted. "You've been training more and skipping out on videogames and you're more intense in battle..."

"And what's up with the disappearances?" Raven asked in her monotone. "Even though crime's low, you souldn't get into any bad habits like that. What if we need you when you're not here?"

"Erm...my communicator," Beast Boy lied. "Just...call me then. And I just disappear because...I-I've been training myself, but I didn't want to hurt you guys at all..."

"You were worrying us by doing that," Robin told the changeling. "And we can take care of ourselves in battle, Beast Boy, even if you go T-Rex on us."

"Yes, friend, we have been sick with worry over your well-being," Starfire added.

"Thanks for your concern, guys, but...it's really not neccessary," Beast Boy said again.

"Well, come talk to us if something's wrong, man," Cybrog told him. "We're all friends here. There's no need for secrets."

"We're just trying to help," Raven said, stepping forward. "None of us want to see you get hurt."

Beast Boy looked down, then said, "Thanks, guys. ...Tomorrow, I'm headed out to the park again. That's where I've been going when I disappear. Just...Don't worry, OK? Everything's fine." And he shut the door, indicating the midnight conversation was over.

* * *

The next morning, a storm still waged overhead, but Beast Boy went ahead with his 'training' in the park. Robin sighed at the table as Cyborg set down the food.

"He'll be fine, man," Cyborg said, answering Robin's unasked question. "BB knows what he's doing."

"I hope you're right," the Boy Wonder grumbled, taking a bite out of the eggs.

"Maybe one of us should check on Beast Boy and make sure he's alright," Starfire suggested hesitantly.

"You mean spy on him," Raven corrected in her monotone.

Starfire frowned, and tears started to form in her eyes, but Robin put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "She doesn't mean it, Star," he said comfortingly, shooting a warning glare Raven's way.

"Yeah...sorry, Star," Raven apologized. Starfire sniffed, but was no longer crying.

"However, it was an interesting idea," Robin continued, and Raven frowned at the team leader. Cyborg frowned as well.

"Don't you trust BB, Rob?" he asked the Boy Wonder.

Robin hesitated. While he did think of Beast Boy as his younger brother, in truth, he wasn't sure of his view on the changeling. He definitley respected him, for the green teen had powers Robin occasionally envied. However, incidents like the Beast and the Brotherhood of Evil and the Doom Patrol had bruised his trust in Beast Boy - but only by fragments. Robin still trusted Beast Boy with his life.

"Of course I trust him," Robin replied after a second. "I trust him with my life."

Cyborg looked at the masked teen for a moment, looking for anything that would betray what he was really thinking, but Robin had perfected his poker face. After another moment, Cyborg nodded and turned back to his breakfast.

"I'll go and check on him if you wish, Robin," Starfire said, reminding Robin of her thought on checking on Beast Boy and seeing what he was up to.

Again, Robin hesitated in answering. He had wanted to go himself, but a second thought said otherwise. He couldn't send Cyborg - he was too easy to spot. Starfire, too, was very easy to pick out. That left him and Raven, and even though he was a master at stealth, his bright red, yellow, and green costume would stick out like a sore thumb. And thus...

"Raven should go," he said aloud. The other three looked at him in disbelief. Raven opened her mouth to say no, but Robin looked her in the eyes and said, "You _will_ go. That's an order."

Raven fumed, but stood up with a swish of her cloak. "Robin, it's ridiculous!" she exclaimed. "We should trust Beast Boy. We don't need to 'check in' on him. He's our teammate, our friend! We do _not_ need to do this."

"Raven, please, just this once," Robin pleaded.

Raven glared at the Boy Wonder. In her head, Rage was shouting at him, while Timid merely coward behind Happy and Love, who were not very happy at all. Brave and Rude were yelling with Rage. Knowledge and Wisdom, however, were advising her to go with Robin's plan. Raven sighed.

"Alright, I'll do it," she said. As Robin smiled, she reminded him, "but just this once."

"Of course, Raven," Robin said, nodding respectively. Raven nodded back as she used her powers to pull her hood up, and then she flew threw the door after Beast Boy.

* * *

Beast Boy soared through the trees as a green eagle. He landed on a sturdy tree branch, shifting into the form of a green mountain lion as he did so. Looking down, he could see a herd of deer passing under him. The fawns were guarded by their mothers in the center, but an old, limping doe was trailing at the back of the herd. He selected her to be his prey - she wasn't going to live much longer anyway.

His prey instincts were screaming at him, telling him it was wrong, but his predator instincts were in control now. As she passed under him, he sprang. He hit the old doe with such a force that it knocked her off of her feet. The rest of the herd scattered as his claws sank in and he bent to break her neck so she would feel no pain...

And then instincts collided with each other. Prey animals were telling him to let her go. Predators were longing for the kill. He hesitated, and then looked at the doe...

...And saw her eyes pleading with him to finish her painlessly. And so he did.

* * *

Raven was sticking to the shadows of the trees in the park. She looked down at her communicator again, trying to pinpoint Beast Boy's communicator. Whenever he was in another form, he could still hear his communicator, and it could be tracked, though it was much harder to do so than when he was in human form.

She floated around another tree, tacking the signal, and then stopped short in shock. The dead body of an old doe was laying in front of her. It had not died a natural death, though - something had killed it and had eaten it, evidenced by the hunks of meat missing from it's midsection.

Then Raven heard it - the rustling of leaves made by an animal. She put her communicator away and turned slowly on the spot, looking for whatever it was. She figured that this was what killed the doe, and though animals eating deer was a natural part of life, Raven was sure that she was not a natural item on the menu.

And then there was a heavy weight on her shoulders, knocking her faceforward onto the ground. She tried to scramble out from under the attacker, but couldn't move. She managed to twist her head up...

...To see the shocked face of a familiar green cougar.

"Get off me, Beast Boy!" Raven demanded after a moment. The green cougar leapt nimbly off her, and Raven rose to her feet in time to see the animal shift into a surprised Beast Boy.

"Raven, what are you doing here?" Beast Boy asked her as she dusted herself off. He hesitated, and then asked, "Are you here to spy on me?"

Raven didn't reply, and Beast Boy let out a feral growl. "Robin sent you to spy on me, didn't he? He's such a jerk! Who does he think he is?"

"It was actually Star's idea," Raven said quietly. "She was concerned for you, and...and Robin agreed with her. I told him to come or to send Star, but he sent me...I'm sorry, Beast Boy."

Beast Boy was quiet for a moment, then said, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

There was an awkward silence between the two of them for a moment. Beast Boy opened his mouth to say something, but Raven beat him to it.

"Look, it's fine. You have every right to be mad at us for coming out here to spy on you. But all of us are concerned for you, Beast Boy. I know something's going on with you - I can feel your emotions going haywire sometimes - but you have every right to keep it a secret from us. I'm sorry."

Beast Boy began to reply, but a beeping interrupted him. Raven flipped open her communicator to see Robin's face in the screen.

"Raven, have you - ? Oh, good, you have found him," Robin said, noting Beast Boy's face looking in at the communicator. "Listen, we've got trouble downtown. Some new villian's attacking innocents. We need you to meet us there, stat."

"We're on our way," Beast Boy and Raven said at the same time. They looked at each other and blushed as Robin nodded and switched off his communicator.

"...Well, let's get going, then," Raven said after a moment, taking to the skies.

"Yeah," Beast Boy said, turning into a green raven and following his teammate to the crime scene...

* * *

~Hmm...not bad, right? I'm not actually sure where I plan to go with this next chapter, but I'll try to not take so long in updating this time!

There will be better action and...stuff next time (I think), so I'll just...see you then! ^^; Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.

I am so terribly sorry for the EXTREMELY late update! I've been doing bits and pieces of this here and there, trying to find spare time to write. It's going to be a bit harder to do anything on here now that school's started up again.

Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers so far. I'll try and take the advice some of you left me to try and improve this story.

This chapter is extremely late for a reason besides school, though. I had over half of the chapter written, then decided that it just sucked, and thus I decided I had to start over! Yep... And I still think it kinda sucks.

Also, a note: I said in the previous chapter (if you remember) a new villian was attacking. However, I can't think up anyone new, so I'll edit that later. Instead, the city's being attacked by...Mumbo? Plasmus? SLADE? O_o I'm not telling you just yet! Read on to find out!

* * *

_**Darkness**_

_Chapter 2_

Starfire couldn't believe her eyes.

Sladebots were marching down the streets of Jump City, terrified citizens running away, screaming. Robin's look of sheer horror was enough to tell anyone that _something was definitely not right._

To make matters even worse, it seemed that these robots had no purpose, other than to destroy. And that was very bad for Jump City's citizens.

"A-alright, we need to attack them," Robin said shakily. "Cy, you and I are gonna kick it all off with a sonic boom, OK?"

"Fine by me," the half robot said, obviously in shock himself.

"Star, after we lauch it, come at them with all your strength. Hopefully Raven and Beast Boy will be here by then," Robin continued. Starfire nodded, her eyes beginning to light up with an eerie glow.

"Slade shall regret returning to our city."

* * *

The sonic boom blasted about 20 Sladebots to pieces, and caused a good number of others to lose their weapons or some limbs. Then Starfire's mega-starbolt destroyed a good 20 or 30 more, leaving about 150 Sladebots out of the original 200.

"Titans, ATTACK!" Robin ordered, drawing his bo-staff. Letting out a battle cry, the Boy Wonder charged into the fray, swiping at the robots with ease and quickly dodging attacks.

Starfire unleashed all her righteous fury as she blasted out her eyebeams, turning some of the fury into boundless confidence, giving her even more super-strength.

Cyborg was blasting away with his sonic cannon, occasionally grabbing one Sladebot and swinging it into some of its companions. The metallic teen barely broke a sweat.

Then a black orb of energy encased about 20 Sladebots in the middle of the battle line, lifted them into the air, and then crushed them by shrinking.

"Raven!" Starfire cried in delight. "Beast Boy!"

The two other Titans launched themselves into battle, Raven destroying every Sladebot that crossed her path with her magics, and Beast Boy trampling them as a Triceratops.

A good half hour later, the battle was finally winding down. Not even 50 Sladebots were left, and the Titans still fought with valor, even though they were getting pretty exhausted.

Through the lines of the remaining robots, movement caught Beast Boy's eye, and then the glint of sunlight off of...a copper mask.

"Slade!" Beast Boy cried, pointing to where the masked villian was hiding. Robin looked and saw his arch-enemy, too.

"Keep fighting!" he ordered Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg. "Catch up when you're done; Beast Boy and I are going after Slade!"

* * *

The two teen boys ran after the mercenary named Slade as the masked mastermind dashed through the alleyways. Finally, the villian darted into a building, Robin and Beast Boy close on his trail.

The two superheroes instantly went back-to-back in the dark room, an old habit they had picked up. "Come out, Slade!" Robin called into the darkness. "It's over!"

"On the contrary, Robin," Slade's voice hissed as blinding lights suddenly snapped on. "It has just begun."

"What are you planning?" Robin demanded as he blinked in rapid succession, his eyes adjusting to the light.

"Nothing that really concerns you," Slade said in a bit of a bored tone. "Or you, Beast Boy, or any member of your team. I simply want the city to be mine."

"That sounds like it concerns us!" Beast Boy growled at the mercenary. Slade merely laughed.

"Your little tower is technically outside the city, is it not? Therefore, my wanting the city is none of your concern."

"Well, we've made it our concern to protect this city," Robin snarled. "We _will_ stop you! You will be brought to justice!"

"I don't think so," Slade snarled back. Suddenly, two Sladebots grabbed Beast Boy and Robin, holding them captive. The two boys struggled, Beast Boy transforming into anything and everything, but more and more Sladebots appeared from the shadows in the corners of the room, restraining the two Titans.

"If you really must make this your concern," Slade continued, walking down to another corner of the room, "then I'd like to give you a bit of a...present."

As Slade walked back over to the two, he held up a little bottle of green liquid that made both Robin and Beast Boy gasp.

"Is that...?" the green shapeshifter began to ask. Slade nodded, smirking behind his mask.

"Oh, yes, so glad you recognize it, Beast Boy," the mastermind said in a falsely sweet tone. "Those chemicals that got spilled on you and Adonis shortly after Robin triggered that reagent and Raven had her encounter with Malchior..._I have them_. I got them from a friend, Professor Chang."

"Those were Chang's?" Robin couldn't help but ask. Slade let out a little chuckle.

"Yes, of course. He designed these chemicals for me. He designed the reagent. He even got me some of my weapons."

"So you were always planning to bring us down, hoping that even if you died-"

"I would be able to destroy you, yes," Slade finished. "And I highly advise you to stay out of this, Titans. Interfere with my plans of taking over the city, and next time we meet, I might just 'accidentally' let these chemicals loose on Beast Boy."

As Slade said this, Beast Boy's eyes narrowed, and he let out a threatening growl. Robin's eyes narrowed as well.

"We won't let you do any of it!" Robin snarled. Beast Boy nodded from where he was restrained. Slade cocked his head.

"Really?" Slade asked. "Well, right now you couldn't stop me even if you wanted to."

A suddenly distressed look came into Beast Boy's eyes, the kind of look that fell over an animal when it discovered it was trapped. "Robin..." the changeling whispered.

Robin sighed. "We will get out of this, Beast Boy...I promise," Robin whispered, hoping Slade wouldn't hear. But the mercenary's hearing seemed to be almost as good as Beast Boy's.

"Don't make empty promises, Robin," Slade repremanded, leaning down to Robin's face. "Don't want your team not believing you."

"Stay away from him!" Beast Boy's sudden snarl made Slade turn to the younger teen, his hand reaching for the chemicals again.

"Now, now, Beast Boy," Slade said, a grin forming under his mask. "We wouldn't want your _primal_ side to get out, now, would we?"

Beast Boy shut his eyes tight, letting a growl make it's way through his clenched teeth. Then Slade let out a startled gasp, and Beast Boy opened his eyes just in time to see a starbolt hit him in the chest and send him flying.

"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" Starfire was on the verge of screaming, and the starbolts ready in her hands were nearly twice as big as usual. Beside her, Raven's eyes glowed white, specs of red dancing around in them, and Cyborg's sonic cannon was ready to fire.

The Sladebots instantly let Robin and Beast Boy fall to the floor as they backed toward their 'master', who was currently picking himself off of the floor.

"Heed my warning, Titans," Slade warned, holding up the bottle of chemicals one last time. "Leave your city to me, and less will get hurt."

And then the room went black.

* * *

*sighs* Yep, a cliffhanger. A wonderful drive for me to keep going, and a wonderful reason for any readers to hate me. Ah well...

So, Slade truly is an evil mastermind, isn't he? I thought bringing the chemicals back in would be an interesting plotline to kick the story off some more, and I hope you agree.

Sorry if the general idea seems overused or crappy, though. I just love where the story is going (though in all honesty, I have absolutely no clue about how this story is going to turn out anymore).

So, will the Titans leave the city to Slade? ...Most definitely NOT. So what's going to happen with Slade and those chemicals? ...I have absolutely no idea.

Love it? Hate it? Leave me some feedback to work with if you will, though just you reading this makes me quite happy. (Basically, review if you want, but if you don't feel like it, that's totally fine.)

~Linzerj


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